Sweet Something
by PrimeEmily135
Summary: Arcee breaks down. One mech is there for her, but he's a little shy about it. One-shot! Set somewhere half-way through the first season. Pricee!


**Admittedly not my best work. But I was hit with a plot bunny last night and this is what became of it. I thought "Eh, it's been a while since I put up something _Pricee_, I guess this'll do." :P Enjoy my random brain. ;)**

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**Sweet Something**

The wind was cold at night in the desert. Blowing steadily across the barren land, it howled across the dusty ground, singing in mournful wails. The chill creeping in with the dark was oppressing, all consuming as it seeped slowly into Arcee's spark.

On top of the base was always quiet, always cold, and always foreboding. But the darkness in addition to that and the memorial in front of her brought such a sense of desolation and emptiness that it became consuming. She slipped past the others' watchful optics to try and find peace with herself and her stirring spark, but was only welcomed by ghosts. Spirits of her tortured dreams.

And alone in the dark, shivering in the cold, she battled with them relentlessly...

"I'm sorry Cliff.. _I'm so sorry_..." she whispered, letting the wind whisk her words away. Her arms wrapped tighter around her shaking form as she tucked her knees up to her chest. "It was all my fault. I should not have let you go in alone! I'm sorry!... _so sorry_..."

Energon leaked from the corners of her optics, trailing in thin blue rivers down her cheeks. She wiped them away on the back of her servo, but they kept coming back. Like her visions of Cliff, Tailgate, or any other mech she had grown to love, they kept coming back to haunt her. Mocking her weakness.

"I wasn't strong enough to save you Cliff... You put your life in my servos and I let you down..." sobbing now, she could barely make sense of her own wails. "I _loved_ you and its my fault that you're not here anymore... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry Cliff!"

Optics already blinded by Energon, she closed them. To block out the darkness around her... But the cold still lingered. She was alone. And she would always be alone...

"_It wasn't your fault_."

"Yes it is! Cliff, you'd still be alive if I was fast enough to save you! I was weak. I wasn't able to keep you from off-lining. It's my fault!" she wished she could scream, but she was unable to. She couldn't move, couldn't even open her optics to prove that he wasn't sitting beside her. And she didn't have the will to convince herself that the warmth next to her wasn't him.

"_There was nothing _anyone_ could have done. Arcee... It _wasn't_ your fault_."

She shook her helm, burying her face in her arms. "I loved you Cliff... I _loved_ you! And I couldn't-I can't-..." she shivered, shying away from the warm body sitting beside her. "I'm all alone... And I'm scared... I'm so _scared_ Cliff..." she whispered, as if uttering the words would make the universe fall down on her. She felt so weak and vulnerable.

"_You don't have to be afraid_..." he said, his voice deep and assuring. "_I won't let anything happen to you_." it was soft, so gentle in fact she swore she could have imagined it, but she felt a kiss on her helm. It was warm, _living_.

The warmth beside her left, and she was again left in the cold, but she wasn't alone.

Opening her optics, she looked over her shoulder at the tall figure retreating back to the elevator. The mech's red armor shone in the dark, just a flash before he was hidden by the shadows.

"It's not _me_ I'm afraid of getting hurt... It's the mechs around me. I care about them all, and I couldn't bare to see them all die because I'm not strong enough to save them!" she watched the figure cloaked in darkness, and saw bright optics turn her way.

"You don't have to be strong enough. You are part of a _team_, and a mech living or dying does not depend on _your_ strength. Let _being strong enough_ be a burden on someone else for once." She was about to respond, about to object, but he cut her off before she could. "You are such a beautiful, wonderful femme, Arcee. You don't have to be stronger, you simply have to be yourself. I don't know any mech that can do half of the things you do. You are too hard on yourself... And in my opinion, the only thing that you should consider changing is how often you smile." he paused, looking down at the ground as she stared at him. "You have the most encouraging smile..."

Arcee remained silent, watching as Optimus Prime darted into the elevator. In a way, his words were uplifting. Her spark didn't feel as heavy. But nothing he could say would ever change how she really felt... No matter _how cute_ he was when he tried to give a compliment, it would never cover up that she felt responsible for Cliff's death. But it did help, if only a little, to push away the pain for a little while...

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**Well there you go! My random brain strikes again! ;) **

**Hope you enjoyed it, leave a Review! :)**


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